How to make Xi'an cured beef

As an ancient cultural city, Xi'an not only has a profound cultural heritage, but also has many special foods. Among them, Xi'an cured beef is well-known far and wide and is loved by many people. As a specialty unique to Xi'an, it is too troublesome for many non-locals to take a bus to Xi'an to eat it. In fact, you can also make Xi'an cured beef with unique Xi'an flavor by staying at home. Let's learn together.

How to make Xi'an cured beef

Ingredients: 9000 grams of beef (lean). 250 grams of salt, fennel seeds [cumin seeds] 25 grams, star anise 3 grams, cardamom 2 grams, cinnamon 12 grams, pepper 9 grams, ginger 6 grams. Features: Beautiful appearance, bright color, crispy and delicious, not fishy or smelly, and rich in nutrition.

·Operation: 1. Raw material preparation: Cut the beef into small pieces weighing 1.5 to 2 kg. Use a knife to cut the back part of the meat so that the meat can turn red easily and the salt taste can be more even.

2. Marinating: In winter, put 90 kg of raw meat and 70 kg of clean water into each tank; in summer, put 60 kg of raw meat and a little more water. Add 500 grams of salt for every 25 kilograms in winter and 500 grams of salt for every 20 kilograms in summer. The meat marinated in the jar should be stirred with a wooden stick 4 to 5 times a day in winter, and stirred more frequently in summer. In winter, the jar should be placed in a warm room to make the meat turn red easily. In summer, the jar should be placed in a cool place to prevent the temperature from being too high and the meat from spoiling easily. In this way, marinate for at least 7 days in winter and 1 to 2 days in summer. Use a colander to scoop out the marinated meat, drain the water, and then rinse it once with clean water.

3. Ingredients: In winter, use 2.5 kg of salt for each pot of raw meat of 90 kg. In summer, use 3.5 kg of salt for each pot of raw meat of 65 kg. Regardless of the season, wrap the ingredients of fennel, aniseed, grass fruit, cinnamon, and pepper with gauze, and add fresh ginger slices and put them into the pot at the same time.

4. Cooking: First boil the old soup together with the new ingredients, and skim off the soup foam. Then put salt on the meat. Stir it with a wooden stick once every hour. The soup in the pot should be able to submerge the meat. When the meat is 80% cooked, add edible red pigment and the meat will turn bright red. Each pot of raw meat takes 8 hours to cook. When cooking for the first time, use charcoal to boil the broth, then simmer over charcoal fire until the meat is cooked. When the meat is out of the pot, use the boiling soup in the pot to wash away the floating oil on the meat, and you will get delicious cured beef.